


Challenge Accepted

by zubeneschamali



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Fairy!Jensen, M/M, Nerd!Jared, Renn Faire, SPN J2 Secret Santa, prince!Jensen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 06:19:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9059209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zubeneschamali/pseuds/zubeneschamali
Summary: Jensen is a fairy living in the human realm who can only connect to home twice a year, on the solstices. Jared is the human who always sees Jensen at the Renn Faire in an awesome fairy costume but has never had the guts to talk to him. When Jensen's brother, the king, shows up to kidnap Jensen because he sees him as a threat to his rule, it's up to Jared to save him. That is, if any of the fairy tale books he's read can actually tell him how to defeat a magical being in combat…





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fridayblues](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=fridayblues).



> Written for fridayblues for spn_j2_xmas. An old spn_masquerade prompt made it possible to combine your likes of fantasy and pining!boys, and I hope you like it! Many thanks to non_tiembo_mala for beta reading.

"I still think the danger is too great for you to go out in public attired like that. What if one of them sees you?"

Jensen sighed. "Mac, this whole festival is full of people who like to dress up like what they think are imaginary beings. I've done this for years, not just at wintertime, but every summer. No one thinks I'm for real."

His sister frowned at the wings unfurled above Jensen's shoulders, open and free for the first time in half a year. Her own wings were shimmering above her shoulders, but Jensen knew she wasn't planning on leaving the cover of the trees. "What about your ears?"

"You don't know how long these people spend on their costumes trying to get them to look 'authentic.'" He reached up and touched the top of his ear. When the glamour was in place, he couldn't feel the pointed tips any more than he or anyone else could see them in the mirror. It felt good to have them out in the open like that. Like he could really be himself, if only for this day. "Besides, I already walked through the parking lot like this, and all I got was a few 'Awesome!'s and a guy's phone number." _Finally_ , he added to himself.

Mackenzie raised her golden eyebrows. "What kind of guy?"

Jensen shrugged, enjoying the feel of his wings rippling with the movement. "His name's Jared. I've seen him here for the last couple of years. He always does really well in the archery competition, and it looks like he _finally_ decided to dress up. I always thought he'd look really good in some tights and a doublet. He's really tall, and he's got these broad shoulders, and from behind—"

"That's more information than is strictly necessary," Mackenzie replied primly.

Jensen sighed. "TMI" was apparently too much shorthand for someone who spent minimal time in the human realm. "No matter. He doesn't even know my name."

"Besides," Mackenzie said, "you don't really want to…have relations…with a human, do you? It means you would be bound to this realm and never able to return to ours while the king is on the throne."

"I can never go back anyway," Jensen said. "Not as long as it is our brother who rules the kingdom."

"You do not think that he would truly…" Mackenzie trailed off.

"He swore he would remove all hindrances to his rule," Jensen replied. "Including younger brothers who have no interest in the throne but are still perceived as a threat. At best, he would imprison me to guarantee his own rule. At worst…" He sighed, looking away. 

Mackenzie shook her head. "I cannot believe that of him."

Jensen refrained from saying that it was only because she was a woman and not eligible to rule that she wasn't in the same boat. Instead he said, "Well, at least we have the solstice together."

"Indeed!" Mackenzie replied. "Our cousins promised to come as well." Her expression dimmed. "As long as they could make their way to the portal in the woods without Joshua noticing."

Jensen looked at the tall redwoods around them. They were the main reason he had chosen to settle in California when he had fled the fairy realm so many years ago. Their size and sturdiness, along with the soft carpet their fallen bark made, were the closest to home that he could find in this world. That a Renaissance Faire was held here every summer, with a special holiday event every winter, was even better. It meant he could take advantage of the weak barrier between the worlds on the solstices. He could be his true self for a day, set up a tent on the outskirts of the Faire and disappear into the woods to meet up with his kin, and none of the humans would know.

It was as close to ideal as things could be for an exiled fairy prince.

 

"There's something up with that guy," Jared said.

"Which one?" Chad asked. 

"The hot one," Jared replied. 

Chad squinted in the direction Jared was nodding, where two people in winged costumes were conversing behind a canvas tent. "Right, the fairy," he said. "Should've known."

"Shut up." Jared nudged his best friend with his elbow. "He does this every year. He wears the same costume, he sets up his tent, and he disappears. Why come here if you're not going to participate?"

"Maybe he's 'participating,' just not with you," Chad replied with a raised eyebrow.

Jared sighed. "A guy that hot, that's probably true."

"C'mon, Jay, you could have any guy you wanted." Chad waved a dismissive hand at the fairies before turning his back on them. "Let's get you one, okay? Get warmed up a little?"

"I'm not here to pick up guys, Chad. I'm here to enjoy the Faire."

"Well, I'm here to pick up girls, so I'm gonna get on with that." Chad adjusted himself with a grimace. "I told that Etsy person that the codpiece needed to be bigger."

Jared rolled his eyes and followed his friend into the thick of the crowd. He cast one glance over his shoulder and was unsurprised to see the fairies disappearing into the forest. 

It just didn't make any sense.

A couple of glasses of hot mulled cider later, multiple failed conquests by Chad, and the grease of a turkey leg staining the velvet doublet he'd finally bothered to get for the Faire, Jared was ready to leave. His bow and arrow were slung over his back, and even though the archery competition hadn't happened yet, he just wasn't in the mood. It was surprisingly warm for December, and he was sweating in his costume. He couldn’t wait to get his normal clothes from the car and change out of these tights. No matter that he'd _finally_ gotten up the guts to give his number to the cute fairy, who'd looked him over in a pretty blatant display of interest. Of course, then he'd disappeared into the woods with the girl fairy, which meant Jared's loins had been girded for nothing.

But now he couldn't find Chad, and annoyed as he might be, he wasn't going to leave the guy stranded thirty miles north of San Francisco. So he started at the central tent and spiraled outwards, watching for Chad and any trouble he might have gotten into.

A while later, as he reached the outer layer of tents, Jared concluded that maybe Chad had gotten lucky after all, which meant he was inside one of the tents. Which meant Jared sure as hell wasn't going to go looking for him. He'd wait in the parking lot and hope he could get some reception on his phone. 

Sighing, he turned in that direction, when something moved in the corner of his eye. He turned to see Hot Guy about half a football field away, talking with two other people in fairy costumes, one man and one woman. No, not talking, more like arguing. The two men were nearly in each other's faces, their wings spread out wide and fluttering as they gestured. The woman put a placating hand on the other guy's shoulder.

Jared watched in astonishment as he made a sharp gesture, and she simply vanished.

He hadn't been able to make out their words, but now he heard a roared, "What did you _do_?" from Hot Guy.

Jared started to inch closer, keeping a tree trunk between himself and the arguing men as much as he could. Hot Guy had his back to Jared, which meant his opponent was facing him. Jared could see a light crown on his head, more like a circlet, that almost seemed to glow in the filtered light of the forest. It was a pretty cool effect, as was the soft glow that their wings seemed to give off. It wasn't bright enough for LED lights, but there was definitely a kind of shimmer in the air.

Then there was a brighter flash of light, and Jared held back a yelp as Hot Guy ducked to the side and a puff of dirt flew up where he'd just been standing. What the hell was going on?

 

Jensen dodged to the side just as Joshua flung a bolt of magic at him. He held up his hands, muttering under his breath to weave a shield. It probably wouldn't be strong enough against the king's magic in this foreign land, but he had to try.

"Hey!" 

The shout came from behind him, and Jensen cast a glance over his shoulder once he saw his brother looking that way. Striding towards them was Jared, and wow, had Jensen been right about him looking good in hose. 

But that thought was going to have to wait, because Joshua had turned and was pointing a finger straight at Jared. 

"No!" Jensen shouted, flinging his hands to the side so that the shield he'd been weaving flew out into the air. It hung like a shimmering curtain in front of Joshua and absorbed the weak bolt he'd been preparing to send at the human.

"Stay back!" Jensen threw over his shoulder at Jared even as he started to prepare another shield. 

A moment later, his hands were down at his sides, trapped in the same webbing that had been thrown over his body. A magic net shimmered around him, and he realized too late that his brother had been preparing not a weapon, but a snare. And Jensen had fallen right into it. 

He struggled against the webbing, but it only tightened around him. Soon he wouldn’t be able to move at all. Then Joshua would be able to make good on his threats, hauling Jensen back home to imprison him—or worse.

"Let him go!"

Jensen and his brother turned as one to see Jared standing a few feet away, glaring at them both. Hands on his hips, he said, "I don't know what kind of role you're supposed to be playing, but this is outside the grounds of the Faire, and so you—"

Joshua began to laugh, fingers still moving lightly in the air as he made sure the net was tight around Jensen. "This isn't for you to worry about, mortal. Be on your way."

"You need to go," Jensen said in a low voice, catching Jared's eye. "Back to the tents."

"This isn't a game, is it?" Jared asked, looking back and forth between Jensen and Joshua, confusion and concern warring on his face. "This isn't part of the Faire."

"It's none of your concern," Joshua said more sternly. His left hand was moving now, sketching a pattern in the air that Jensen recognized. Soon he'd be pulling both of them through the portal, away from this world and back to their own. Jensen just had to keep Jared out of this for a moment longer—

"What did he do?" Jared asked. He gave a sideways nod at Jensen.

Joshua sighed dramatically. "Jensen is my brother. He tried to take my throne from me. I am returning him to face his judgment."

"I did no such thing," Jensen muttered.

"Then why are you his prisoner?" Jared asked. His eyes were raking over Jensen, taking in his struggles against the golden filaments of the web surrounding him.

Jensen gave a sharp shake of his head. "It doesn't matter. Just go."

Jared folded his arms across his chest. "Is he trying to take you against your will?" When Jensen didn’t answer, he turned to Joshua. "Are you trying to take him away like you did with that woman a minute ago?"

The clearing they were in suddenly went silent. After a moment, Joshua asked quietly, "What woman?"

Lifting his chin, Jared replied, "The one who was with you but disappeared. When Jensen asked what you did with her, he sounded pretty upset."

"Jared, that was my sister. She's fine. You need to get out of here," Jensen insisted.

"No, I think he needs to stay." Joshua waved a hand, and a shimmering wall rose up behind Jared. The distant noise of the Faire suddenly shut off. "Until he has satisfied himself as to the course of events."

Jensen watched helplessly as Jared looked back and forth between him and his brother. He could sense Jared's gaze lingering on their wings and on Joshua's crown, and he realized with a sinking feeling there was no way he was going to be able to talk his way out of this as extreme cosplay. Not when they were—

"What would satisfy me," Jared said in a loud, clear voice, "is truth by combat."

The forest fell silent again as Jensen's spirits sank even lower. This human had doomed them both.

 

Jared stood as tall and straight as he could while he waited for a response. It came quickly, with the so-called king chuckling derisively. "You cannot possibly think that—"

"You're from the fairy kingdom," Jared replied. "Or _a_ fairy kingdom, at any rate. That means there are rules, right? Obligations you have to uphold? And from what I've read, truth by combat is one of those."

"Jared, I don’t know what you think you've read in some book of human stories about fairies—" Jensen started.

Joshua cut him off. "Oh but he's right, dear brother. And we wouldn't want to dodge our _obligations_ , now would we?" He eyed Jared with a smirk. "If you are the one making the challenge, it is I who chooses the weapons, yes?"

Jared swallowed, watching the flickers of light dancing around the king's fingertips. Between Jensen's struggles, and the solid, invisible wall behind him, and everything else he had seen, there was no denying it. He had walked into something truly magical here—and truly dangerous. Part of him was gleeful that he was finally getting to put to use all of those books of magical lore he had read, but the rest of him was trying desperately to remain calm and remember _something_ useful from one of those books. Finally, he nodded at the king's hand and said, "As long as you choose something I am capable of wielding. It would not be a fair contest otherwise."

There was a flash of anger in the king's eyes, and Jared smiled to himself. _Point, me_ , he thought.

His momentary glee disappeared as Joshua said, "You understand that if you lose, you will be coming with us as well. Forfeiting your freedom as well as my brother's."

"That's not—" Jensen burst out angrily, only to be silenced with a wave of Joshua's hand.

Jared swallowed hard, seeing Jensen's mouth move and yet hearing no sound come out. It was one more indication that he'd gotten himself in way over his head here. But he straightened his shoulders and said, "Fine. And if you lose, you leave this place and never bother Jensen again."

"Agreed," Joshua replied smoothly. He looked Jared over from head to foot. Slowly, a cruel smile curved the corners of his mouth. "Since you seem to already be equipped for the challenge, I choose bows and arrows." He reached over his shoulder and withdrew a gleaming white bow that Jared would swear hadn't been there a moment ago. When he tested the string, the light, musical twang seemed to echo off the wall of air behind Jared.

The bow hanging from Jared's back suddenly felt heavy and clumsy, and he wondered not for the first time what the hell he'd been thinking. But he'd gone and put his foot in it, so he had to man up and follow through and implement any other clichés the Chad-voice in his head wanted to spout right now. "All right," he agreed. 

"Good." Joshua turned around, scanning the forest. "Aha!" He pointed to a dead tree trunk about a hundred yards away, taller than the both of them. "That oak tree. The dead one with the jagged top."

Jared squinted at it. It was narrower than a standard archery target, to be sure, but it was at about the distance he was used to hitting. "Sure," he shrugged.

"Near the top, there is a knot in the wood," Joshua went on. "Four arrows each. Whoever shoots the closest to the center is the victor."

Jared's heart sank. He could see a dark smudge near the jagged edge of where the top of the tree had broken away. Was that the knot Joshua meant? He couldn’t even see it clearly, and there was no way he was revealing that by asking to take a closer look. He would have to take aim as best he could and hope he could beat someone who was probably using fucking magical arrows.

He was so screwed.

Jensen's mouth was still moving, and with a sigh, Joshua waved a hand towards him. "You can't do this, Joshua," Jensen said. "Just take me and leave this place."

"A challenge has been issued," Joshua said. "I cannot stand down from it." He smirked as he looked at Jared. "And as the one who has been challenged, I choose to shoot first."

"Fine." Jared folded his arms over his chest and tried to look imposing.

Joshua's smirk only deepened as he notched an arrow. "And I mean the upper knot of the two."

Jared hadn't even realized there were two, and he watched as Joshua's first arrow sank into the center of the tree, near the top. Three more followed in rapid succession, clustered closely in place. When Joshua lowered his bow, he gestured grandly towards the tree. "You may look more closely if you need to."

Jared was halfway to the tree when he realized what the king had done, and a cold chill shot down his spine. His four arrows were in a perfect diamond shape around the dark spot of the knot in the trunk. He was showing off, toying with Jared to show him there was no way he could expect to win. 

And he was probably right, but that didn't mean Jared wasn't going to give it his best shot. 

 

Jensen watched in horror as Jared's first shot missed the tree entirely. 

Joshua was barely hiding his glee as the second arrow sank into the wood of the tree well below his own cluster. Jensen curled up the fingers of one hand and started to draw on what magic he could, readying himself to push Jared out of the way when Joshua tried to draw them both into the portal. Jared and Joshua might be locked into the rules of a challenge, but Jensen was not.

Jared shifted his stance on the ground. A light breeze blew past them, sending a shiver down Jensen's spine. He watched as Jared drew his next-to-last arrow, carefully sighting along its length. It was the kind of cheap material that was used only for sport in this realm, nothing like the finely-crafted, magic-enhanced arrows that Joshua was using. It was hardly fair, and if Jensen hadn't been forbidden from speaking again, he would have been protesting loud and long.

Instead, he concentrated on Jared's long fingers where they wrapped around the wood of the handle, Jared's strong shoulders as he pulled back the bowstring, Jared's sky-grey eyes as he sighted down the arrow. Jensen knew his own magic was limited by the web Joshua had thrown around him, but he still willed every bit of himself into Jared's shot.

The arrow flew from the bow and landed with a dull thunk in the dead wood of the tree.

 _Inside_ the diamond-shaped cluster of Joshua's arrows.

Jensen let out a whoop that echoed through the trees. Apparently Joshua's hold on him had failed in his astonishment, for his arms and legs were suddenly free as well. He came forward and clapped Jared on the shoulder, who was still staring in amazement at where his arrow had gone. "Well done, my friend," Jensen said. 

"No human could make a shot like that," Joshua ground out from between clenched teeth, glaring at Jensen. "You cheated."

Jensen held up his hands. "You had me trapped," he replied. "It was all Jared. And your arrogance at setting so simple a target, thinking a human could never best you. So by the terms of the challenge, you are to leave this place, and me, alone."

"Now," Jared said from beside him. His fourth arrow was still notched, and although the bow was at his side, Jensen could tell he was ready to bring it up in an instant if he had to. Not that Joshua couldn't deflect it, but Jared's readiness made Jensen feel at least marginally better.

Joshua glared at them both, and Jensen started to weave a shield in case his brother went back on his word and attacked them both. But with a sudden flurry of golden sparks, the king shimmered and vanished.

Jensen let out a long breath, dropping his hands to his sides. "Thank you," he said, turning to Jared. "I don’t know how you did it, or why, but you saved me."

"You're welcome," Jared said slowly. He carefully released the bow before slinging it back over his shoulder. "I'm not sure how I did it, either."

Jensen let out a nervous half-laugh. "A lot of cider from the Faire and a little bit of luck, I suppose."

"Not that much cider," Jared replied quietly, his eyes intent on Jensen's.

Jensen sighed again. "I was hoping I could get you to pretend that's all this was."

Jared stubbornly shook his head. "No, you're going to explain it all to me. Just let me know first—are you safe now? Is there some way he can still come back for you?"

"Why are you so convinced I'm the good guy?" Jensen asked. "Maybe I really was plotting to overthrow the king."

"Then there'd be a whole bunch of people here looking for you, right? Not just the king himself. And you wouldn't have been so worried about me, trying to get me out of the way."

Jensen nodded slowly. The human was smarter than he looked. Which Jensen should have already known, given what he'd managed to do to his brother. "You're right. But given the terms of the challenge, _he_ has to leave me alone. Doesn't mean he won't send someone else over in his stead. Our worlds are only bridgeable on the solstice."

"Then you have to get out of here!" Jared's hand was warm on his arm. "Is this the only place they can come through?"

Jensen wet his lips. "There is one thing I can do to bind me to this realm. No one will be able to take me away."

"What is it?" Jared asked. "Can I help?"

"Funny you should say that." Jensen reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, right above where his wings met. "We would have to fuck."

 

Jared stared at him. "What?" he asked weakly.

Jensen waved a hand at him. "Never mind. I know it's asking a lot, and you probably don't even want to, and—"

"Dude, I didn't give you my number so we could exchange costume tips," Jared said. Slowly, he reached out, fingers ghosting over the edge of Jensen's wing. "You don't even _need_ costume tips, do you?"

Jensen jerked his shoulders, wings fluttering backwards. "Excuse you."

Jared felt his face flushing. "Sorry. I'm—you're right, that was rude." He spread his arms wide. "Fair exchange. You can touch me wherever you want."

He hoped he wasn't imagining how Jensen's eyes darkened. "With Joshua's wall gone, anyone in the Faire might see or hear us up here," Jensen said. 

Jared hoped his disappointment didn't show on his face. "Right." He lowered his hands to his side. "Never mind, then."

Jensen took a step closer. "That's not what I meant. I do have a tent set up." He moved even closer and lowered his voice. "Enspelled so that no one can hear what might go on inside."

"Oh." Jared's eyes widened. "Oh! Do you, you mean… you want to…?" He trailed off and frowned. "Wait. You haven't done this before? You haven't been already bound to this realm by someone else?"

Jensen shook his head, looking suddenly less sure of himself.

"You've never had sex?"

"Not with a human."

"Whoa." Jared drew a deep breath, feeling both intimidated and turned on at the same time. "I'm—I would be honored."

Jensen looked him up and down once more, arching an eyebrow. "The honor would be _all_ mine."

 

As it turned out, the honor was both of theirs, and the pleasure, too. 

And later on, when they emerged from Jensen's tent hand-in-hand to a round of applause led by Chad, Jared learned that Jensen's magic had a tendency to weaken when his focus was somewhere else. But the afterglow from fairy sex was amazing enough that he didn't even mind. 

He'd just rescued a prince, after all. A prince who'd been noticing him for years the same way Jared had been noticing him, and Jared was looking forward to learning everything that he could about him.

Right after they tried again with more secure soundproofing, that was.


End file.
